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FBI: Every 2 to 3 Days a New Large Scale Breach

FBI: Every 2 to 3 Days a New Large Scale Breach

Posted May 27, 2015

Acting Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division Says Frequency of Breaches Surged from Weeks to Just Days

Unless they’ve never been online, watched TV, listened to radio or read a newspaper, there’s hardly a person over the age of ten (okay maybe five) who needs the FBI to explain that major breaches are happening all the time. However, it does take the FBI to put the frequency of those breaches in perspective.

James Trainor, acting assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, speaking at an event hosted by Microsoft, observed that new, large-scale breaches occurred every two or three weeks. “Now,” said Trainor, “it is close to every two to three days.” Trainor added, “Those types of events, whether they concern a national security threat actor or a criminal actor, are ones we see on a much more regular basis.”

In an article on thehill.com, Elise Viebeck talks about how the FBI is positioning itself to fend off future attacks by working with businesses. The following has been excerpted from her piece and edited to fit our format. You may find the full article by clicking on this link.

Doubling or tripling the cybersecurity workforce

Trainor also said the cybersecurity industry needs to “double or triple” its workforce in order to keep up with hacking threats.

A top government priority

The remarks shed light on the FBI’s approach to investigating cyber crimes as online threats proliferate against U.S. businesses and government agencies.

Trainor, who called cybersecurity a “top priority” for FBI Director James Comey, said the agency has personnel embedded in embassies and law enforcement entities around the world.

An ally not a victim

The FBI treats breached companies “like a victim, not like they did something wrong” and tries to establish relationships prior to a cyberattack, he said.

As an example, he called the FBI’s relationship with Sony a “tremendous partnership” before and after the company was attacked last year.

“There were a lot of lessons learned from that in a very, very positive way,” he said.